"There are a lot of decisions by judges I vehemently disagree with," Romney said on Fox News. "But I also agree with the Constitution. The solution to judges-out-of-control is not to tear up the Constitution and say the Congress of the United States becomes the now ultimate power in this country."FULL POST

(CNN) - House GOP sources tell CNN they are now likely to scrap a planned vote to directly defeat a bill to extend the payroll tax for two months, and vote instead to simply instruct House negotiators to back a year long extension.

The expected change, which developed after a two hour meeting of House Republicans, appears to reflect how wary House Republicans are of casting a vote that could be seen as a tax increase.FULL POST

Davenport, Iowa (CNN) - Newt Gingrich explained Monday his share of the six-year $1.6 million Freddie Mac payout amounted to "about $35,000 a year," a drop in the bucket compared to the amount he would earn from one speech.

"Freddie Mac hired Gingrich Group, which is a firm which had offices in three cities," Gingrich said at a campaign stop in Davenport. "Of the total contract, it was a six-year period contract, of the total amount that we keep talking about I probably got about $35,000 a year. Now that is less than I was making per speech."FULL POST

Manchester, Iowa (CNN) - Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry on Monday called the Wall Street bailout "the single biggest act of theft in American history" and blamed two his rivals, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, for supporting it.

During a bus tour swing through rural eastern Iowa, the Texas governor touted his small town values and blasted the Wall Street "den of thieves" for "gaming the system" and taking money out of the wallets of ordinary citizens.FULL POST

(CNN) – While his national poll numbers have dipped, Newt Gingrich still leads the pack of Republican presidential candidates in South Carolina.

The Clemson University Palmetto Poll released Monday showed the former House speaker with a 17-point lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 38% to 21%. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas received 10% followed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota tied with 5%. The other candidates garnered less than 5%.FULL POST

(CNN) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Monday he will not agree to reopen negotiations with House leaders on the payroll tax cut until the House passes the two-month extension already approved by the Senate.

"I have always sought a year-long extension. I have been trying to forge one for weeks, and I am happy to continue negotiating one once we have made sure middle-class families will not wake up to a tax increase on January 1st," Reid said in a statement. "So before we re-open negotiations on a year-long extension, the House of Representatives must protect middle-class families by passing the overwhelmingly bipartisan compromise that Republicans negotiated, and was approved by ninety percent of the Senate."